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genealogy and family history of the Carlson, Ellingboe, Everson and Johnson families of Minnesota and Wisconsin
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Andro (Andrew) HAVIR

Male 1854 - 1937  (82 years)


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Andro (Andrew) HAVIR was born on 20 Aug 1854 in Czechoslovakia; died on 26 Mar 1937 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; was buried on 29 Mar 1937 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • MN Death Cert Checked: Y
    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 1937-MN-019714

    Notes:

    Probably had a sister or sister-in-law named Susie (b. 9/29/1855, d. 12/05/1956).

    Andrew was farming as Andrew Havir in Hunter Township, Jackson County, Minnesota at the time of the 1910 census.

    Farming as Andy Haver in Minneota Township, Jackson County, at the time of the 1900 census.

    He died at his home, 407 Ontario Street, in northeast Minneapolis. According to his death certificate (information provided by his son Andrew H.), he had lived there for 20 years. He had worked as a farmer for 26 years and had last earned his living as a farmer in 1917. He died of hypertension and a stroke that had occurred three months earlier.

    Birth:
    the date and location shown on his death certificate

    Andro married Anna (Annie) MATASOVSKY about 1883. Anna was born in Jul 1866 in Hungary/Slovakia; died on 4 Dec 1948 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 2. Anna HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 16 Feb 1885 in Illinois; died on 10 Mar 1966 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    2. 3. Andrew H HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 21 Jan 1887 in Streator, La Salle and Livingston Counties, Illinois; died on 30 May 1962 in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
    3. 4. Thomas A HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 17 Jan 1889 in Illinois; died on 6 Jun 1966 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    4. 5. Mary HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born in Apr 1891 in Illinois.
    5. 6. John Louis HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 9 Mar 1894 in Lakefield, Jackson County, Minnesota.
    6. 7. Stephen Raymond HAVIER  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 30 Sep 1897 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 6 May 1992 in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota; was buried on 11 May 1992 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    7. 8. Susie Anna HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 2 Jan 1900 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 8 Dec 1992 in Ramsey County, Minnesota; was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    8. 9. Michael HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 13 Mar 1902 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 31 Oct 1961 in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
    9. 10. Henry HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 31 Jan 1905 in Hunter, Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 20 Aug 1998 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    10. 11. Emma Laura (Lizzie) HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 22 Jan 1907 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died in Unknown.
    11. 12. Louis Albert HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 22 Jan 1911 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 2 Oct 1919 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    12. 13. Ervin HAVIR  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 27 Apr 1914 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 3 Sep 1914 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  Anna HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 16 Feb 1885 in Illinois; died on 10 Mar 1966 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 1966-MN-007365

    Family/Spouse: STOREBO. died in Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  2. 3.  Andrew H HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 21 Jan 1887 in Streator, La Salle and Livingston Counties, Illinois; died on 30 May 1962 in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

    Notes:

    Registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, at Folwell Hall on the University of Minnesota campus as Andrew H. Havir. He lived at 901 Thornton in Minneapolis and was employed as a machine shop foreman at a business on Huron and Dartmouth Streets in Minneapolis. He claimed exemption from the draft on the grounds of his wife and 3 children under 12. He was described as tall and of slender build with brown eyes and dark hair.


  3. 4.  Thomas A HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 17 Jan 1889 in Illinois; died on 6 Jun 1966 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Notes:

    “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Havir” signed Bess’s funeral guest book. May be either this Thomas or his son. There was also a Thomas H. Havir, born in Minnesota on June 27, 1913, and died in Chisago County on February 4, 1975. Thomas H.’s mother’s maiden name was Wida and Thomas H.’s death certificate was 1975-MN-003215.

    Minnesota Death Certificate 1966-MN-014807.


  4. 5.  Mary HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born in Apr 1891 in Illinois.

    Notes:

    May be the Mary Havir who died on August 15, 1954, in Kanabec County, Minnesota. (Death Certificate 1954-MN-006947.) Date and place of birth and mother’s maiden name not indexed.


  5. 6.  John Louis HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 9 Mar 1894 in Lakefield, Jackson County, Minnesota.

    Notes:

    Registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, in Minneapolis at Folwell Hall on the University of Minnesota campus. He lived at 407 Ontario Street S.E. in Minneapolis. He was single but claimed exemption from the draft because of his dependent father, mother, brothers, and sister. He worked as an ammunition machinist at Enterprise Machine Company at 12th Avenue and 3rd Street in south Minneapolis. He was described as tall and of medium build with brown eyes and dark brown hair.

    In the 1940 census, he and his family were living in south Minneapolis at 4125 43rd Avenue. He was a machinist for a hoist and derrick manufacturer.

    After Bess’s funeral, Elaine sent a thank-you card, for flowers and/or contributions, to John Havir, 4132 W. Keim Drive, Phoenix, Arizona.

    Mr. and Mrs. John Havir signed Maurice’s funerary book.

    John married Susan WIDA on 11 Sep 1917 in Morrison County, Minnesota. Susan was born about 1899 in Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  6. 7.  Stephen Raymond HAVIERStephen Raymond HAVIER Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 30 Sep 1897 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 6 May 1992 in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota; was buried on 11 May 1992 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 1992-MN-013388
    • Occupation: Machinist for tool maker, Salesman for machine supply
    • Social Security Number: 473-07-4156 issued in MN before 1951

    Notes:

    In the 1910 census, he was living at home with his parents and siblings on the Havir farm in Hunter Twp, Jackson County, Minnesota. Shown as age 16 in that census which was an error. His birthday is shown as September, 1897 in the 1900 census.

    Registered for the WWI draft on September 12, 1918, in Minneapolis at Folwell Hall at the University of Minnesota. He registered as Steve Raymond Haveir of 407 Ontario Street, Minneapolis. He was employed as a machinist at Parton Bloomstrom, 311 6th Ave S., Minneapolis. His nearest relative was Andrew Haveir of the Ontario Street address. He was of medium height and build with brown eyes and dark hair.

    Living with May and May’s brother and mother in Minneapolis at the time of the 1920 census. Both Steve’s parents born in France. In the 1930 census, however, both of Steve’s parents were shown as born in Czechoslovakia.

    In the 1922 Minneapolis city directory, he is a foreman for Harris Machinery Co. He lives at 411 Ontario.

    In the 1924 city directory, he’s still a foreman at Harris Machinery Co. but now lives at 2820 41st Avenue S.

    In the 1928 Minneapolis directory, he is a mechanic for Harris Machinery Co. He lives at 2920 39th Avenue S.

    The Havier family lived at 2820 39th Ave. S. at the time of the 1930 census. Steve owned the house, worth $5000. Steve and Mayme had moved into that house in 1924.

    In the 1934 directory, he is a salesman for Northern Machine and Supply Co. he lives at 2920 39th Avenue S.

    In the 1938 directory and the 1939 directory, he is still a salesman for Northern Machinery and Supply Co. He and Mae live at 3401 45th Avenue S.

    In the 1940 census, Stephen R., May, and Arleen lived at 3401 45th Avenue S. This was not the house they lived in five years earlier. Steve was a salesman for a machinery firm. Both he and May had an eighth-grade education.

    Steve’s family apparently lived in the area of 3rd and 4th and Ontario. Steve, and later with Mayme (and even John one year) lived at 411 Ontario until he and Mayme moved to 2820 41st Avenue. Steve was a machinist with Harris Machine Co. in 1921 and in 1922 became a foreman.

    By the 1949, and probably for the rest of their lives, Steve and Mayme lived at 310 South Mississippi River Boulevard in St. Paul. An article in the Star on April 28, 1949, describes workmen finding arrowheads on the Haviers’ property.

    An obit in the Minneapolis newspaper read as follows:

    Stephen Havier, 94, former owner of St. Paul machine tool firm

    Stephen R. Havier, 94, former owner of Sales Service Machine Tool Co. in St. Paul, who designed punch-press and power hacksaw machines, died Thursday at Langton Lake Place, a nursing home in Roseville.

    He was a member of the board of directors of Marquette Bank from its inception in 1957 until 1976.

    Havier, of Roseville and formerly of St. Paul, grew up on a farm near Jackson, Minnesota.

    He left home at 12 or 13, and moved in with an uncle in Chicago while he attended trade school, said his grandson, Len Reiland, of St. Louis Park.

    “He wasn’t interested in staying on a farm,” he said. “He wanted to learn manufacturing and get into that line of work.”

    He founded Sales Service Machine Tool Co. in 1936.

    Previously he had been sales manager of Northern Machinery and Harris Machinery in Minneapolis.

    His business supplied the machine tools and equipment to many large corporations, including Honeywell, Graco, and Tennant, his grandson said.

    He designed a punch press called the Havir Pressrite. He also designed a steel-cutting hacksaw called the Keller power hacksaw.

    He served on the Marquette Bank board for 19 years, his grandson said.

    Havier turned the machine-tool company over to other family members in about 1980.

    He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren at his home on Lake Mille Lacs and hunting ducks and pheasants.

    He is survived by his wife, May; a brother, Henry Havir, of Minneapolis; a sister, Susan Quinn, of Minneapolis; five grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

    Services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1935 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Listoe-Wold-Bradshaw Funeral Home, 678 South Snelling Avenue, St. Paul. Memorials to the church are suggested.

    Pallbearers: Dan Reiland, Chris Reiland, Len Reiland, Jr., Scott Reiland, George Booth, Jr., Karen Booth, Stephen Booth, Samantha Booth, Marjorie Williams, Laura Roberto, Bradley Spooner, Shannon Spooner, Summer Spooner.

    Buried:
    Funeral at Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church, St. Paul. Personal reflections by Laura Roberto and Dan Reiland.

    Stephen married May (Mayme) ERICKSON on 11 Nov 1919 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. May (daughter of Daniel ERICKSON and Brita (Betsy) JONSDOTTER (JOHNSON)) was born on 27 Sep 1900 in St. Francis, Anoka County, Minnesota; died on 13 Mar 1995 in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 14. Marjorie Mayme HAVIER  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 15 Jul 1920 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 7 Aug 1978 in Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi; was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.
    2. 15. Arlene Eleanor HAVIER  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 17 Apr 1924 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 17 Apr 1977 in Volusia County, Florida; was buried on 22 Apr 1977 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

  7. 8.  Susie Anna HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 2 Jan 1900 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 8 Dec 1992 in Ramsey County, Minnesota; was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1900-09837

    Susie married Henry Norman HOFF on 22 Apr 1920 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and was divorced. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 16. George Henry HOFF  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 5 Feb 1921 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 28 Jul 2001 in Anoka County, Minnesota.

    Susie married Edward Joseph QUINN on 6 Jun 1953 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Edward died in Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  8. 9.  Michael HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 13 Mar 1902 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 31 Oct 1961 in Ramsey County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1902-10155
    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 1961-MN-030812

    Notes:

    Probably was the Michael E. Havir who died on October 31, 1961, in Ramsey County. He was born in Minnesota on March 13, 1902. (Death certificate 1961-MN-030812; mother’s maiden name not listed.)


  9. 10.  Henry HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 31 Jan 1905 in Hunter, Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 20 Aug 1998 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • MN Birth Cert Checked: Y
    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1905-10865

    Notes:

    His birth certificate was amended on January 25, 1942, to change his birth date from 2-28-1905.

    “Mr. and Mrs. Henry Havir” signed Bess’s funeral guest book. Because a “Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Havir” signed right after Henry, it’s possible that Henry had a son Darrell. Elaine sent the thank-you to Darrell at 5106 W. 105th Street, Minneapolis.

    After Bess’s funeral, Elaine sent a thank-you card to a “Harvey” Havir, 3501 Oakland Avenue.


  10. 11.  Emma Laura (Lizzie) HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 22 Jan 1907 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died in Unknown.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1907-10449


  11. 12.  Louis Albert HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 22 Jan 1911 in Jackson County, Minnesota; died on 2 Oct 1919 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: DC-32581
    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 1919-MN-021163

    Notes:

    Not listed in the 1920 census.


  12. 13.  Ervin HAVIR Descendancy chart to this point (1.Andro1) was born on 27 Apr 1914 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 3 Sep 1914 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1914-40958
    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 1914-MN-019772



Generation: 3

  1. 14.  Marjorie Mayme HAVIER Descendancy chart to this point (7.Stephen2, 1.Andro1) was born on 15 Jul 1920 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 7 Aug 1978 in Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi; was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1920-45661

    Notes:

    Or Marjorie Mae Havir.

    In the 1938 Minneapolis city directory, she was a stenographer and lived at home with her parents and sister at 3401 45th Avenue S.

    In the 1939 city directory, she was a typist for the Bureau of Engraving. She lived at home with her parents and sister at 3401 45th Avenue S. Her wedding reception was at her parents’ house in south Minneapolis.

    In the 1940 census, she and George lived at 2701 Bloomington Avenue S. George was a proprietor of a grocery store and Margerie was a clerk at a grocery store. Both of them were high-school graduates.

    Middle name also spelled Mae in one of her kids’ (George) birth certificates.

    “Mr. and Mrs. George Booth” signed Bess’s funeral guestbook. (Twice, actually. An additional entry was “Mr. and Mrs. Geo Booth and George Booth.”)

    Marj and George lived in Rosemount at the time of their childrens’ weddings.

    At the time of her sister’s death Marj and George lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. That’s where Marj died about a year later. Marj’s obit was in the August 8, 1978, edition of the Minneapolis Star.

    At the time of her death, she and, presumably, George, lived at 109 Regency Drive in Hattiesburg. Her obit in the Hattiesburg American said that she had seven grandchildren.

    As her oldest daughter recounted in a 2012 article, Marj met her future in-laws for the first time on July 13, 1936.

    Died:
    Not in the SSDI.

    Marjorie married George Fletcher BOOTH on 12 Aug 1939 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. George (son of George Albert BOOTH and Verna Letitia HEWITT) was born on 7 Apr 1916 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 23 Jun 2004 in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota; was buried on 29 Jun 2004 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

    Children:
    1. 17. Judith May BOOTH  Descendancy chart to this point was born on 3 Apr 1941 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 3 Nov 2016 in Washington County, Minnesota.

  2. 15.  Arlene Eleanor HAVIERArlene Eleanor HAVIER Descendancy chart to this point (7.Stephen2, 1.Andro1) was born on 17 Apr 1924 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 17 Apr 1977 in Volusia County, Florida; was buried on 22 Apr 1977 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1924-41644
    • Social Security Number: 475-16-9243 issued in MN before 1951

    Notes:



    Last SS benefit received in St. Paul, 55116.

    “Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Reiland and Leonard” signed Bess’s funeral guestbook.

    Arline Eleanore on her birth certificate. Arlene D. in her obituary (Star, 20 April 1977).

    She and Leonard lived at 2144 Edgcumbe Road in St. Paul at the time their son Leonard married Timona in July of 1968.

    Her address at death was 2144 Edgecumbe Road, St. Paul. Her obit in the Star on April 20th said she would be buried at Hillside.

    Died:
    Florida Death Index

    Buried:
    Funeral at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

    Arlene married Leonard Peter REILAND on 4 Mar 1944 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Leonard (son of Ernest S REILAND and Martha MAAG) was born on 24 Jul 1920 in Ramsey County, Minnesota; died on 13 Feb 2003 in Edina, Hennepin County, Minnesota; was buried on 17 Feb 2003 in Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]


  3. 16.  George Henry HOFF Descendancy chart to this point (8.Susie2, 1.Andro1) was born on 5 Feb 1921 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 28 Jul 2001 in Anoka County, Minnesota.

    Notes:

    Died:
    SSDI last residence was Pharr, Hidalgo County, Texas

    Family/Spouse: Dorothy Kathleen SWARTZELL. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]



Generation: 4

  1. 17.  Judith May BOOTH Descendancy chart to this point (14.Marjorie3, 7.Stephen2, 1.Andro1) was born on 3 Apr 1941 in Hennepin County, Minnesota; died on 3 Nov 2016 in Washington County, Minnesota.

    Other Events and Attributes:

    • Minnesota Death Certificate: 2016-MN-036062
    • Occupation: Nurse, Journalist

    Notes:

    Or Judith Mae.

    She was the flower girl at her aunt Arlene’s wedding to Leonard Reiland in 1944.

    She graduated from St. Paul Central High School in its class of 1959.

    At the time of her wedding to Gary Spooner, she was working as a dental assistant.

    “Mrs. Judy Spooner” signed Bess’s funeral guestbook. Afterward, Elaine sent a thank-you card to the Gary Spooners at 6408 Hillside Drive, St. Paul Park.



    From an article in the Bulletin on October 2, 2013:

    Judy Spooner had just finished a Bulletin assignment taking photographs of children at a Christmas program. She walked outside, paused and teared up.

    “I’m in the parking lot,” she recalled recently, “and I said, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do.’ Just tell stories — that’s all I really wanted to do.”

    That realization occurred when she returned to the Bulletin in 1988 after several years away, but she already had worked more than a decade for the newspaper, sharing south Washington County news and community events through stories, photographs and a weekly column.

    “I wanted to tell people stories,” she said.

    It remained her passion at the newspaper up through her retirement this week. “Judy from the Bulletin,” as she’s known around town, concluded her reporting career with the newspaper on Monday, Sept. 30.

    For months she had been planning to retire at the end of September, but her final few weeks of work changed significantly when she suffered a stroke in mid-September. She avoided severe effects from the stroke and is recovering.

    Judy’s been at the Bulletin for as long as many people can remember. Her first byline appeared on a story about a school district labor fight in the June 26, 1969, edition of what was then called the Washington County Bulletin.

    She has jokingly admitted that she started at the Bulletin “a month before the moon landing.”

    She was already married to her husband, Gary, and they had settled in Cottage Grove. He was working as an insurance salesman. Judy walked into the Bulletin office — in its early days the office was in Newport — and got a part-time job helping to put the paper together each week. Gary would join the Bulletin too, first as an ad salesman and later co-publisher and owner.

    She was ‘self taught’

    Over the years Judy covered just about every bit of local news: cops, city councils, parades, children’s holiday programs, the Washington County Board and the Grey Cloud Town Board, royalty coronations and high school graduations.

    However, she gravitated toward feature stories — tales about everyday people in south Washington County — and coverage of local schools and the children in those classrooms.

    School coverage fell into her lap early in her career. She had to report on school district news with no formal journalism training.
    “I had no idea how to put together a news story,” she said. “I was self taught. It was a pretty amazing process. It really was.”

    Her interest in telling readers what’s going on in local schools — and what kids have to say about it — was appreciated.

    Becky Schroeder, principal at Oltman Middle School, said Judy is in the school frequently and always is interested to know what students are learning and how they are being taught.

    Her daughter Margie Williams said Judy is genuinely curious about what children think, but she also enjoys being around them because she does not have grandchildren of her own.

    Judy got to talk to kids for work, and each holiday season for nearly 40 years she has portrayed Mrs. Claus while Gary, in his distinct white beard, has played Santa at community events. It was another way to interact with youth.

    “They’re really, really everybody’s grandparents,” Williams said of her mother and father. “She can have a bunch of grandchildren and then she can come home.”

    For much of her career, Judy’s home was her office. That arrangement started when she returned after one of two hiatuses from the Bulletin to discover there wasn’t a desk for her.

    “It worked out wonderfully,” she said of writing from home. “I could put in pot roast, pet the cat and go right to police news.”

    ‘The history detective’

    Judy and Gary raised two daughters — Margie and her sister, Laura Booth — and the girls spent a lot of time with Judy while she worked. Both are mentioned frequently in her columns to this day.

    Often Judy’s Bulletin work intersected with one of her interests — local history.

    “She dragged us into the (Cottage Grove) cemetery,” Margie said, recalling an episode many years ago. “(The weeds) were over our heads. It was creepy gravestones everywhere. She’s like, ‘Isn’t this cool?’ And we’re like, ‘No.’”

    Judy might have picked up the history bug from Old Cottage Grove resident and local historian Bev Gross. The two have trudged through cemeteries together and poked around in old school buildings.

    “It seems like the more we dove into it, the more interest she took,” Gross said.

    Judy has been a member of the Cottage Grove Advisory Commission on Historic Preservation. She jokes that she sought out the role because it was  the best way to serve on a volunteer commission but stay out of the news.

    That worked, until she was named the 2012 Cottage Grove Preservationist of the Year and received a plaque during a city meeting earlier this year. She had been nominated by Gross.

    “She was so excited about that,” Gross said.

    John Burbank, Cottage Grove’s senior planner and historic preservation officer, called Judy “quite the history detective.” Burbank said she takes time to research old stories, landmarks and artifacts to piece together local history that otherwise might go untold.

    “That’s a big asset to our community,” he said.

    Swept into ‘Sweepings’

    As other employees came and went early in her career at the Bulletin, Judy picked up more duties and assignments. Another reporter had written a society column — “Cottage Sweepings” — that detailed the comings and goings of people in the community.

    When that reporter left, Judy stepped in and continued the column. Over time it morphed from a local gossip column to a mix of small-town buzz and Judy’s own take on everything from community events to household observations.

    She dropped the “Cottage Sweepings” title but continued the column throughout her career, one week telling readers about her travel discoveries while visiting relatives out of state and the next week sharing a neat story about a project by students in a local school. In retirement she’ll continue to write an occasional column for the Bulletin.

    “I think I just bloomed where I was planted,” she said of the different skills and jobs she learned over the years.

    Judy returned to the Bulletin in 1988 after about a five-year separation from the paper. She had a similar stint away from the paper in the 1970s. The return in 1988 would be the start of a 25-year run that ended this week.

    In the fall of 1996, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She took a leave for treatment and then returned. Her cancer experience provided context when she would later report on others — adults and children alike — who were fighting the disease. It also was the source of column topics over the years.

    While Judy remained at the paper, its ownership changed. Gary Spooner and a business partner sold the newspaper to Red Wing Publishing Co., in 1994. Gary spun off the Bulletin License Center as a separate business. The Bulletin newspaper was part of a group of regional newspapers that was purchased in 2001 by Forum Communications Co., which still owns the Bulletin.

    Judy said she wanted to stay in the same job at the Bulletin over the years because the assignments were always different. She recalled memorable stories she worked on — from the quirky to the emotional. Among the most difficult, she said, was the October 2007 story of Katherine Ann Olson, a Park High School graduate who was murdered after answering a nanny ad on Craigslist. The family lives near Judy, and after initially thinking it would be too emotional for her, she said she decided that was the reason she should write the story. She wanted readers to understand the family’s grief.

    Judy also recalled battling city governments over meeting and public record issues, and she laughed when remembering some of the unusual animal stories that somehow found her. There was a woman whose attic was full of pigeons, and a cow whose birthing of a calf became public interest because of its close proximity to a highway. And then there were the phone calls from people who found strangely shaped produce in their gardens and thought it should be in the Bulletin.

    Judy said she could find a story in anything.

    “Every now and then,” she said, “something would happen and you’d say, ‘This was so fun.’”

    Judy Spooner had her third major stroke in June of 2015 which left her unable to move or speak. She entered hospice care in November of 2015. She improved in late March of 2016.

    Her obit:

    Judith "Judy" Spooner (nee Booth), age 75, of Cottage Grove, MN was born April 3, 1941 in Minneapolis, MN and died November 3, 2016 in Cottage Grove, MN from complications of a stroke.

    Judy was preceded in death by her mother, Marjorie Booth (nee Havier) and father, George F. Booth. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Gary; daughters, Marjorie (Eric) Williams and Laura Booth; special niece, Karen (Steve) Balcom; grandniece, Emily; and grandnephew, Ryan. Also survived by her best friend, Ruth Voights; nephew, Stephen Booth; sister, Connie (Roger) Spooner; and brother, George R. (Pat) Booth.

    Judy was a photo-journalist for the Bulletin Newspapers who published the South Washington County Bulletin and the Woodbury Bulletin weekly newspapers. Her beat was mostly School District 833, but she also wrote weekly columns, features, and photographed sports and other events for the newspapers. Judy was also an assistant golf coach for the Park High School of Cottage Grove girls' golf team. Judy had over a 45 year association writing with the newspapers making her a very popular person in the South Washington County area. She won several state and national awards for her writing and photography. People in the area would supply her with news tips that she followed up on and wrote stories about people; who have thanked her over the years for the publicity.

    Died:
    Norris Square Senior Living

    Judith married G.L. SPOONER [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]